Donatello's Demise
by n00btmntfan
Summary: Now more resolved than ever to find a retro-mutagen to fix April's father, Donatello works to build a supercomputer that will help him find a formula. With help from the computer-savvy Tang Mei, who is Tang Shen's long-presumed-dead sister, he succeeds. But Mr. O'Neil's salvation results in Donatello's own demise - and the only ones able to help him are their sworn enemies.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: "Donatello's Demise" is a sequel to my fan-fic "The Girl Next Door." You will probably have an easier time understanding the sequel if you read the first one, but if you don't want to take the time to, I have written a synopsis which highlights the main points of "The Girl Next Door."

* * *

In "The Girl Next Door," a Japanese woman named Satou Atsuko moves into the apartment directly downstairs from April. Satou is a computer programmer, collector of traditional Japanese weapons, and an avid disciple of ninjutsu. After an unfortunate encounter with April's mutated father, Atsuko befriends April. April, who is struggling with being torn between Donnie and Casey, confides in Atsuko more and more. However, unbeknownst to April, Satou Atsuko used to go by a different name—Tang Mei. Tang Mei was the older sister of Tang Shen.

Shredder and Splinter, it turns out, had made a childhood pact when they were in school: Splinter, who was enamored with Tang Mei, and Shredder, obsessed with Tang Shen, agreed that they would help each other win the object of their affection. However, Tang Mei ended up marrying a man named Kobayashi Kenshin. Splinter accepted this and moved on—only to discover that Tang Shen had loved him the whole time. When Tang Shen chose Splinter, Shredder saw it as a violation on Splinter's part of their childhood contract. When Shredder finally decided to finish Splinter off, he decided to make Splinter suffer first. So, he captured the Kobayashis and made Tang Mei watch while he killed Kenshin and their sons Kenji and Suki. Then, he planned to capture Splinter and make him watch while he raped the woman who had once been the object of Splinter's affection. However, when Shredder failed to capture Splinter (thinking him dead in the fire), Shredder dealt with his anger by repeatedly raping Tang Mei over the one year he kept her prisoner.

After she had been captive for a year, Tang Mei managed to escape. She changed her name and sought a new life, devoting herself martial arts and learning advanced computer programming. Years later, she gets a job offer in New York and moves there—into the apartment below April's.

Donnie is working on a supercomputer to help him find the retro-mutagen, and April hopes to enlist Satou's help in the matter. However, April's life is complicated by the triangle she feels stuck in with Donatello and Casey. On the one hand, Casey makes her giddy with excitement and she really likes him (plus, there is the bonus of his not being a giant turtle), but on the other, she feels that she owes Donnie for all of the things he has done for her since they met. Eventually, after much agonizing over it, April ends up dating Casey—however, their relationship ends up being rather short-lived.

The day after Casey and April become an "item," Casey is captured by Karai, who has learned of Casey's own sordid past. As a recovering alcoholic, Casey is very vulnerable to relapse. Using that against him, Karai asks him to help her capture April. Unable to resist the alcohol, Casey agrees to help her in exchange for satisfying his addiction.

Eventually, Satou figures out that April is connected to Splinter—whom Satou partly blames for Tang Shen's death as well as her own torment at Shredder's hands. Satou is with April when the Foot Clan, using Casey's tip, track April down. Satou thinks that April is part of a trap set by the Shredder, and wanting to escape she ends up knocking April out—who is then promptly taken away by Karai.

Satou realizes her mistake and manages to find the turtles using April's t-phone. The turtles think that Satou is with the foot—and by the time they figure everything out, it's almost too late. The turtles then rush off to save April, leaving Satou and Splinter alone in the lair. Satou and Splinter reconcile.

Meanwhile, Shredder is planning to rape April as another way to punish Splinter. He almost does, but then the turtles burst in to save the day. Michelangelo is grievously injured and April is severely traumatized; however, it is unsure whether Shredder survived the encounter.

When Satou and Leonardo go to find Casey, they discover the truth. They give Casey two days to either tell April himself or to just break up with her and never speak to her again. Casey is too ashamed of the truth and so he chooses the latter option. Donnie, who learns the truth from Leo, decides that April deserves to know the truth too, since she is so upset by Casey's mysterious dumping of her.

Furthermore, April has started to suffer from PTSD; her father is the only psychologist who will believe the strange situation is true. Donnie doubles his resolve to fix Mr. O'Neil so that Kirby can help April recover. Donnie swears to April that he will never rest until he finds a cure. Then, to his surprise, April declares that she loves Donnie and they kiss.

The story ends with Satou Atsuko reclaiming her identity as Tang Mei. The turtles adopt her as their aunt. She decides that she will finally heal from her old traumas and resolves to help April overcome her PTSD.

* * *

Now, on to the sequel...


	2. Chapter 1

Donatello stuck his tongue out; he was concentrating so hard that he didn't realize he was biting down on it. Squinting through his makeshift microscope, he manipulated the tiny piece of semi-conductive metal into place with tweezers.

"And….there!" he exclaimed. Blinking his eyes rapidly and looking around to relieve his strained ocular muscles, he spotted a red dot on his desk. "Huh?" He wiped it up with his finger. "Blood?" Sticking out his tongue again, he touched it and then examined his finger. "Ow! Aw, man, not again…" Reaching for a tissue, he blotted his tongue gently. "I oughta get myself a teething ring or something."

"Do you always mutter to yourself while working?"

Donnie glanced up at the doorway. Aunt Mei stood there with an amused expression on her face. "Oh, hey, Obasan," he said.

"You need to work on your pronunciation," Aunt Mei said, shaking her head. "You make it sound like 'grandma,' not 'aunt.'"

"Sorry, Aunt Mei. I know how to say it, but I just bit my tongue a little, that's all. How's April?"

"I think that she's making progress," Aunt Mei replied. "I've been teaching her some of the meditation skills I have used to deal with…my past." A shadow crossed over her face.

Donnie still wasn't one hundred percent sure what exactly Shredder had done to Aunt Mei during the year he held her prisoner, but after what had almost happened to April, he didn't especially want to ask. He still shuddered to think what would have happened if he and Mikey hadn't gotten there in time to save April—and then how things would have gone if Leo and Raph hadn't made their appearance at just the right moment. "I try to get her to talk to me," he said, "but she's been really clammed up lately."

Aunt Mei gave a short laugh through her nose. "I'm no psychologist. I am quite certain that any respectable counselor would not approve of my techniques. But, until we have a better option, it will have to do. Speaking of which, how goes the project?"

"Pretty fantastic. The silicon pieces fit into the groove so well I didn't need any sauter."

"That's the difference between laser cut and—whatever it is you normally use."

"Thanks for getting the equipment for me. I think I've almost got all the components finished now. Let's just hope it's enough to do the kind of calculations I need it to handle." The supercomputer he had been working on for weeks on end was finally starting to come together; however, he knew that setting up the machine itself was still only equivalent to putting up the frame for a house—an exceedingly complicated house.

"Once you have all of your programs written, how are you going to get the data from the mutagen into the system?"

"That part's pretty awesome," Donnie said, feeling a rush of excitement. "I developed this input program that theoretically will extract readings directly from my molecular centrifuge."

Aunt Mei stared at him blankly. "Where on earth did you get one of those?"

"Oh, you know, from New York's resident mad scientist, Baxter Stockman."

"I thought you were our resident mad scientist, Donnie," said Mikey, walking into the lab. "Whatcha working on?"

"Nothing that you are allowed to touch," Donnie said curtly. "I mean it. It's very delicate equipment. What do you want, exactly?"

"Geez, I just wondered what you were doing. Why are you so touchy lately?"

Donnie sighed. Between working on this project all hours and April's nightmares, he hadn't been getting very much sleep. It had made him very short-tempered and caused his training to suffer. Splinter had been nagging him about getting enough sleep incessantly—so Donnie had taken to doing his work in his bedroom at night.

Even more than that, his relationship with April was confusing and strained. It was weeks since their first kiss and she still insisted that Donnie keep his mouth shut about it. When he asked her why, she just said "It's too soon," and refused to elaborate on it any more than that. The only person who had been officially informed of their relationship was Aunt Mei—who, as it turned out, had caught them kissing even before April 'fessed up to her.

"Sorry, Mikey," Donnie said heavily. "I'm just—really wrapped up in this project."

"Dude—you seriously gotta cut loose. When was the last time you worked on an invention for fun?"

"I don't have time for _fun_, Mikey, I…"

"You need to make time, then," Aunt Mei said.

Donnie was frustrated. If anyone should understand how crucial it was to get April's dad back to normal, it would be her. He sputtered a few unintelligible syllables before Mikey cut him off.

"Dude. Skateboarding. Now."

"Mikey…" he protested.

"Don't make me bring Splinter in here," Mikey said, putting his hands on his hips.

"I am not going skateboarding…"

"Now!" shouted Mikey. Raph and Leo leapt into the room with ropes, and before Donnie could react, they had him all tied up.

"This is not funny!" yelled Donnie.

"Well, we're not untying you until you agree to come with us," Leo said. "Come on, Donnie. You'll be able to work better if you take a break."

The irrefutable logic of that statement only made Donnie more frustrated. "Are you the one behind this?" he snapped, looking up at Aunt Mei.

"This is America," Aunt Mei said. "If I read the literature correctly, I believe I have the right to avoid self-incrimination."

"Oh, fine. I'll go skateboarding with you guys. Then will you leave me alone?"

"Yeah, if you mean by 'leave you alone,' make you actually sleep for once," Raph quipped.

Before Donnie could protest, Master Splinter walked into the room. "My son, do you seriously think that sleep deprivation will make your project more likely to succeed? Remember: _nin_ means patience. You are more likely to err in your work if you rush."

"Consider this an intervention, Donatello," added Aunt Mei.

"Fine. Can you untie me now?"

* * *

With his skateboard strapped across his back, Donnie ran and jumped along the rooftops with his brothers. Mikey, as was typical, already had his board out. It mystified Donnie that Mikey—so seemingly clueless and clumsy—had the innate ability to calculate such jumps and moves with precision. In fact, Mikey was usually more graceful on his deck than on his feet.

"Whoa—check it out!" shouted Mikey, gesturing to an especially inviting skate spot.

"Nice find, Mikey," Raph said approvingly.

In spite of himself, Donnie enjoyed his skateboarding break. The combination of physical exertion, fresh—well, at least not sewer—air, and just letting his mind turn off was incredibly refreshing. When they had finished, they sat on a rooftop eating pizza together.

"Hey guys," Donnie said, "it kills me to say this, but thanks."

"No problem, bro," Mikey said.

"So, I have to ask," Leo said through a mouthful of pizza, "what exactly put the fire in your shell over that supercomputer? I mean, I get why it's important, but you're practically killing yourself over it."

"I'm really worried about April," Donnie said, poking at his slice of pizza. "Her PTSD seems to be getting worse. I just—well, the sooner I get that retro-mutagen figured out, the sooner her dad will be able to help her."

"We're all worried about April," Raph said.

"But we're worried about you too, man," Mikey said.

"Maybe you shouldn't spend as much time around her, Donnie," Leo said. "I think her depression is kind of rubbing off on you."

Donnie felt a twinge of anger. "I'll spend as much time around April as I want to, Leo."

"Did it occur to you that maybe she needs some space?" Raph said. "I mean, I'm no expert, but if I'd just been through a bunch of crap that bad I know I'd want to be left alone."

_You guys don't get it! You don't know how much she needs me, _Donnie thought. Still, Leo had made valid point about her depression affecting him. He wasn't really sure what to expect from being in a relationship with April—but he had never imagined it would be as emotionally stressful as it had turned out to be. He had been slightly saddened by the fact that most of their time together wasn't overly fun. Occasionally, however, a glimpse of that sweet old April peeked through.

Those were the moments that made it all worthwhile.

"I still can't believe Casey dumped her out of the blue like that," Mikey said. "It's like he dumped all of us. I mean, it's not like we were that bad at hockey."

Raph frowned. "I don't get why he'd want nothing to do with us all of a sudden. He's a stupid punk. It's no great loss anyway."

Donnie could clearly tell from Raph's tone that Raphael did, indeed, find Casey's absence from their circle of friends to be a loss. He glanced at Leo, who just shook his head.

"Forget about Jones, guys," Leo said. "We don't know that there isn't something bigger going on with him—maybe something we don't understand. I'm sure it's nothing personal."

"I kinda prefer to think he's just a jerk," Raph said.

Donnie sighed heavily.

"Sorry, Donnie," Mikey said. "We wanted to cheer you up and now we just all bummed ourselves out."

"I'm not bummed out," snapped Raph.

"Maybe it's time we hit the hay, guys," Leo said hastily.

With that, the four grabbed their skateboards and headed back to the lair.


	3. Chapter 2

"April? April, time to get up. School's in an hour and a half."

Slowly, April opened her eyes to see Donnie's face hovering above her. With a moan, she pulled the blanket up over her face.

"Come on, April."

"Donnie," she protested.

She hated being woken up. Once she had finally achieved sleep—real, nightmare-free sleep—she never wanted to wake up again. She knew that Donnie was only doing as she had asked him to, but it was hard not to resent him for it nevertheless.

"So, uh," Donnie said, his tone somewhat hesitant, "you didn't come wake me up or call me anytime during the night. Did you manage to sleep through?"

Finally sitting up and stretching, April yawned. "No," she muttered. "But some of Atsuko's—Mei, I mean—some of her meditation techniques have helped. "

Donnie's face lit up. "That's great!" he said. He gave her a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "That's really great."

April laid her head on Donnie's shoulder for a moment, not wanting to do anything else for the rest of the day but be here where she knew she would be safe. "It's something," she said.

Donnie's voice was reassuring. "Which is better than nothing."

"I guess." When she looked up see the disappointment in his eyes, she felt terrible. She frequently shot down his attempts at positivity. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Being…such a downer."

"You're not a downer," Donnie said. "Don't say stuff like that."

"Thanks, Donnie."

Donnie smiled. "No problem. See you at breakfast in a bit." He gave her a quick kiss and left the room.

April grabbed her towel and favorite outfit and went to the lair's only bathroom. Walking in and locking the door behind her, she rolled her eyes at how messy it was. Apparently, only Donnie and Master Splinter were capable of not leaving towels on the floor. Furthermore, there were always globs of toothpaste stuck to the sink, and no matter how hard Donnie had tried to get the water in their personal plumbing pure, the minerals still tended to leave buildup around the tub, sink, and toilet. For individuals who didn't shave, use cosmetics, or hair products, April couldn't fathom how they managed to keep the bathroom so messy and cluttered.

They were supposed to be on a five-week rotation for cleaning, with each of the guys and then Master Splinter taking a turn, but only when it was Donnie's or Splinter's turn did the bathroom actually get properly cleaned. Even then, it was back to being a disaster within two days.

Cringing as she climbed into the tub—the mineral buildup always seemed to make the tub feel vaguely slimy—April turned on the water and went about her daily ablutions.

Before she had started suffering so much stress, she hadn't been staying at the lair on a daily basis. She much rather would have preferred to use her own neat, tidy bathroom in her apartment. But being alone in her apartment made her feel vulnerable. Furthermore, she hated getting undressed—the feeling of being naked triggered memories of nearly being Shredder's victim. At least when she knew that her friends were nearby, she could be safe.

Nevertheless, she spent as little time in the shower as possible.

After toweling off, she got dressed, combed her hair, and walked back to her room. She hung her towel over the doorframe, since the idea of leaving it in the messy bathroom was vaguely disturbing. Then, after loading up her book bag and tying on her shoes, she grabbed the stuff she would need for the day and headed to the kitchen for breakfast.

Raphael was practically falling asleep into his bowl of cereal; Mikey was scrambling some eggs. Leo was reading a magazine while drinking a glass of orange juice and Donnie watched the toaster.

"Morning guys," April said.

Raph looked up at her with his usual morning face—something that wouldn't be inappropriate in a zombie movie—before remembering that he was eating. He shoved another spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

"Hey," Leo said absentmindedly.

Donnie greeted her with a big smile—one that April couldn't help but reply to with a smile of her own.

"You want some eggs, April?" Mikey said, as he poured the beaten eggs into a hot skillet.

April eyed the eggs skeptically. Mikey's cuisine seldom agreed with her palate. "Uh, cereal sounds good."

"Your loss."

"Here, April," Donnie said cheerfully. "I made you some toast."

Raph snorted. However, Donnie didn't react at all, where once he would have gotten rather flustered. Instead, he just put the toast onto a plate and handed it to her with a smile.

"Thanks, Donnie," April said. She sat down at the table and started munching on the crispy bread.

"Don't you want some jam or something?" Mikey asked.

April's mouth was full, so before she could swallow and reply, Donnie spoke up. "April likes her toast plain," he said.

Raph snorted again. This time, Donnie shot him a dirty look.

"Yeah," she said. "I don't know why, I just always have."

"You are seriously messed up, dudette," said Mikey, shaking his head, as he poured a strange chunky substance on top of his eggs.

"What is _that_?" April asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Anchovy and jalapeno chutney," Mikey said. "I picked the toppings off of one of my slices of pizza yesterday and made it."

"That's…I don't even know what to say, Mikey."

"Yeah, I know. I'm a genius, right?" As he took a large bite of his breakfast, a single anchovy tail fell off of his fork and plopped onto the plate.

Suddenly, April found her toast didn't taste quite as good anymore.

"Want me to walk you to school, April?" Donnie asked, as he put some toast onto a plate for himself.

Predictably, Raph snorted.

"Do you have something stuck in your throat or something?" Donnie snapped.

April saw the three other turtles exchange covert, amused glances. She knew that the subject of Donnie's affections for her was a source of much amusement for them—and the fact he generally overreacted to their teasing only encouraged it all the more.

Donnie looked at her. That look. The one she had come to dread. The one that said, _Can't we tell them?_

"No," she said, shaking her head. She meant it as an answer to both Donnie's spoken and implicit questions. "I'll be fine."

Donnie's expression drooped.

"It's all right, Donnie," Raph said. "You can go outside and play some other time today."

Mikey and Leo made a quiet sound which suggested that they were stifling a laugh.

April glanced at her watch. "I need to get going now," she said. She stood up and set her empty plate in the sink. "Thanks for the toast, Donnie, it was great. Not too light or dark. Just the way I like it."

Donnie beamed.

"See ya, guys!" she said.

All of the turtles waved or said goodbye.

The minute she was out of the kitchen, she heard raucous laughter. Though she couldn't quite hear what was being said, she thought she heard Donnie shrilly saying, "She's not my girlfriend!"

_Oh, Donnie,_ she thought, feeling a pang of guilt as she continued on her way to school. _I'm sorry about this._ She wasn't sure why she didn't want anyone else but Tang Mei to know about her and Donnie. April knew, on a certain level, that she was being selfish. Part of it was that she was afraid that if their relationship failed, then there would always be the awkward strain with the other guys too, not just Donnie.

The other part of it, however, she didn't understand, but she knew it had something to do with her post-traumatic stress. Perhaps she was terrified that if she publicly acknowledged their relationship, it would suddenly be taken away from her. Another possibility was that she was afraid she was only taking advantage of Donnie to help her heal, and so she was ashamed of herself for it. She turned over hypothesis after hypothesis in her mind, trying to figure out why she felt the need to keep it secret—but none of them seemed to touch the truth.

She wished that she had a concrete reason—she owed that to Donnie. However, until she found whatever it was she needed to be comfortable publicly acknowledging that Donnie was her boyfriend, she was grateful to him for—if not understanding—supporting her.

She climbed out through what she thought of as 'her' manhole cover—the one that was only half a city block from a bus stop that serviced her school. When she caught a blast of fresh—relatively speaking—air, she drew a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for the rest of her day.

When she arrived at school and saw that the day's itinerary included assembly hall, she groaned. Since she and Casey Jones had such thoroughly different class schedules, she never saw him anytime accept for after school activities or general assembly. Once, she would have been excited by the prospect of seeing him during the day—now, she dreaded it.

Granted, he had done a marvelous job of avoiding her. She couldn't even remember the last time that she saw him except for maybe at a distance down the hall. And really, she was okay with that. She still hadn't one hundred percent processed what had happened between them. She wasn't sure if she hated him for selling her out or felt sorry for him because of his problems. Either way, she had found that not thinking about it was generally the best coping strategy.

Assembly, it turned out, was for a big presentation on careers, encouraging high-schoolers to think about their futures. As she sat down, she found herself thinking that she would be content knowing what to expect from tomorrow, let alone planning for years down the road.

Several other students were cramming into the assembly hall—there was much general murmuring about how sick people were of these career presentations. A large group of people started moving into the row in front of April. She was looking at the handout, so she didn't really notice until she heard a familiar voice say, "Let's not sit here."

Her insides froze. It was Casey. She told herself not to look up at him.

"Come on, man. This is one of the only spots left, unless you want to go sit with the marching band geeks."

"I just really don't like being this close to the door."

"Deal with it, man."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Casey sit down three seats over in the row in front of her. No matter how much she told herself not to look, eventually, she did. She was startled to see that he was looking over his shoulder at her. Their eyes met briefly, then both of them looked away.

April's heart was racing. She felt panicky knowing that part of the reason she had been traumatized was sitting less than two meters away from her. Still, according to Donnie, Casey hadn't intended for it to happen. She wasn't sure if that made her any less angry at him. Even more, she was furious that he hadn't told her himself.

_Forget about Casey,_ she said to herself. _You're with Donnie now. You're with someone you can trust._

After assembly was dismissed, April hurried to her next class, keeping her eyes on the floor in front of her so she wouldn't have to see Casey as he walked past.


	4. Chapter 3

While she was washing her hands, she looked into the mirror and examined the face that peered back at her. _Who am I, really?_ she thought.

Her identity had been a perplexing issue to her over the last several weeks. After only knowing the turtles for a short while and insisting that they call her "Atsuko," she had suddenly felt a positive reconnection with her past. Since Michelangelo kept calling her "Aunt Mei" regardless of her wishes, she decided to start using her given name while around Splinter, April, and the turtles.

Just a few minutes ago, a colleague at Advancements had surprised her by saying, "I've been saying your name for five minutes, Atsuko. Would you please pay attention?" The truth of the matter was that, for the moment, she had quite forgotten that Atsuko was the name she now went by.

Now, as she looked at herself in the mirror, Mei decided that she was who she was, regardless of what name she was called. She had once said to Splinter, "Tang Mei is dead." In some respects, it was true. She would never be the same person. But she did not need to bury her past. If she was truly to heal, she would need to embrace all parts of herself.

It would also be the only way she could help April.

_April._ She still found herself wracked with guilt over what happened. Even though the turtles, Splinter, and April herself had forgiven Mei for her mistake, the truth was that April would never be the same person, either. How could Mei forgive herself for that? Even if Shredder had not physically raped April, the poor girl had certainly been violated psychologically.

Mei would have helped Donnie with his project to restore Kirby O'Neil anyway, but knowing that the man could help April recover doubled her determination. She knew that it wasn't as though she could use this to expunge her guilt—but she longed to offer at least some recompense.

Drawing a deep breath, Mei reminded herself to listen for her alias name and headed back to her office. Once there, she sat down to browse hundreds of lines of code for the new OS that her team was working on. There was a glitch in one of the system spools of their software, and she was trying to find it.

With a chuckle, she found herself thinking that Donatello could find the error rather easily. If he were not forced to stay hidden away from the rest of the world, he could be a millionaire in the computer industry.

Right now, however, she felt more like Raphael than Donatello—ready to pull out her sai and stab it right into the computer. She had been agonizing over this for days—trying to get everything perfected for the big quarterly progress report—and while she had fixed several other errors along the way, she still could not isolate the problem that was causing the spool failure.

With a glance at the clock, she realized that it was already past six o'clock. She started getting everything squared away for the evening, and when she left her office, she felt a wonderful sense of freedom.

Before meeting April, she would have brought her work home with her. She would have been doing anything and everything to keep herself from thinking about the past. Now, she was free to be herself.

She decided not to stop at home before heading to the lair—it would be too much traveling back and forth. She did stop at the grocery store and pick up a few things, as she had said that she was going to make dinner for them tonight.

When she walked in through the old turnstiles, she was pleasantly surprised to see April sitting on the couch in the den instead of keeping to herself. Donatello, predictably, was absent—most likely, he was in the lab.

"Aunt Mei! Right on!" shouted Michelangelo. "What's for dinner?"

"Teriyaki," she replied. "Made the right way. None of your Americanized nonsense."

"Dude, the cuisine of Michelangelo knows no cultural boundaries," he said, spreading his hands out as though he were some kind of philanthropist.

"That's an understatement," Raphael commented sarcastically.

"Granted, I don't think Mikey's teriyaki even remotely resembles either traditional or Americanized versions," Leonardo added.

"You guys just can't handle the fact that I am a culinary visionary," Michelangelo said, his nose in the air.

"Actually, I'm surprised that your vocabulary is even big enough to have the word 'culinary' in it," Raphael quipped.

"Come on, Michelangelo," said Mei. I'll show you how I make it. Maybe you can show me how to make one of your signature dishes sometime."

"All right!" shouted Michelangelo. He got up and hurried into the kitchen.

With a smile, Mei followed after him. But before she walked past the curtain dividing the rooms, she caught a glimpse of Splinter standing in the dojo doorway, looking at her with a smile on his face. She returned it with a feeling of great contentment that she never imagined she would experience again after losing her family.

* * *

After dinner, Mei went into the dojo to practice. Splinter, now technically her sensei, assisted her. However, despite what he had said to her about not having much to teach her since her skills were so advanced, it turned out that she still had plenty of shortcomings. She was amazed at some of the things that Splinter knew—she had trained under other grandmasters that didn't have his finesse.

Once her session—disappointingly short, since it was getting late she still had to help Donatello _and_ help April practice her coping skills—was over, she was about to leave the dojo when Splinter asked if he could speak to her for a moment.

"Certainly," Mei said. "What can I do for you?"

Splinter looked for a moment as though he did not know where to begin. "I must thank you, my sister. You have brought much happiness to my sons—and to our home."

Mei laughed. "Is this your way of thanking me for saving you from Michelangelo's cooking tonight?"

With a grin, Splinter shook his head. "While dinner was excellent—and I did enjoy it very much—I have found that being a rat has its advantages. My palate can tolerate nearly anything, which was certainly an advantage during the time we had little access to, shall we say, standard comestibles. Not to mention my son's—peculiar—gustatory preferences."

"Ah. So even if my teriyaki was terrible, you wouldn't have noticed."

"Now you are simply trying to trap me."

"What fun would it be if I didn't?"

"What I am trying to say is that I am very glad that destiny has reunited me with my sister-in-law. It has been a long time since I have experienced the graciousness of the Tang family."

"What is it that you are really trying to say, Splinter?"

Splinter smiled and bowed his head. "I see that not much escapes your perception." He looked back up at her. "It may come across as strange, but I do not wish for you to misunderstand my intent. However, I would like to invite you to come live here with us."

Mei was blindsided – she had not expected this. "I—I am honored, brother. I don't even know what to say."

"We have plenty of space—the boys will gladly excavate one of the spare rooms for you," Splinter said hastily, as though he were still concerned that she would misinterpret his intentions. "They have long missed a maternal figure in their lives, and I have seen positive changes in them since you started coming to spend time with us regularly. It would mean a lot to them to have you here with us—especially Michelangelo. In fact, he was the one who suggested this to me."

A surge of affection for Michelangelo welled up in Mei's heart. He was such a giving, loving spirit—of course he would be the one to suggest such a thing. But the prospect of moving into the sewers was indeed a strange one. Her apartment was very comfortable, not to mention far better smelling. She had just finally finished unpacking all of her boxes. Furthermore, she still had nearly nine months left on the lease.

In response to her silence, Splinter spoke again, his voice tight with suppressed emotion. "It would mean much to me as well, Mei."

Mei. He had hardly called her anything other than 'sister' since the first night she had discovered the lair. Something in his tone tugged at her heartstrings—she realized that her living in the lair would be the closest that either of them had come to a whole family since Japan.

Even so, she was uncertain. "I need time to decide," she said.

Splinter bowed. "Of course. You must consider all the factors and decide whatever is best for you."

"Thank you," she said. "I am very honored by your invitation."

As she walked to the lab, her mind swam. The idea of living with Hamato Yoshi was odd. In light of his childhood infatuation with her, she understood why he was so hasty to ensure that she did not misunderstand his intentions.

"Hi!" said Donatello, as she walked in. "Dinner was awesome, by the way."

"Thank you," she said. "It was my mother's recipe. So I see you've got almost everything assembled."

"Yeah. I could use a little help with this part, though…"

As she worked with her nephew, she found herself thinking that maybe she did belong in the lair after all.


	5. Chapter 4

"Donnie?"

Donatello looked up from his work. April, dressed in flannel pajamas, was standing in the doorway to the lab. She looked pale.

"April!" he said, jumping up. A quick glance at the clock told him it was past midnight. Since Aunt Mei had left he hadn't once looked up to see the time, and no one had come to nag him about going to sleep. He ran over to her. "What's wrong?"

"Another nightmare," April said, with a sniff. "A really bad one. Worse than I've had in a while"

Donnie wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry. Do you know what might have made it worse than usual?"

Pulling back, April wiped a tear from her face. "I saw Casey at school today."

A flare of anger leapt up in Donnie's chest. "He talked to you?"

"No. He was in the row in front of me in assembly hall. I heard him tell his friend that he wanted to sit somewhere else, but most of the other seats were full so they sat there anyway."

If he didn't think that it would disrupt April's life even more, he would have suggested that April simply stop going to Roosevelt High altogether. "How did seeing him make you feel?" he asked, not sure what else to say.

April coughed. "I don't know. Scared. Confused."

"Confused?" She didn't still like him, did she?

"Confused over whether I want to knock his brains out or feel sorry for him."

"You could always do both," Donnie suggested, hoping to make the situation a little lighter.

However, April started crying. "How could he have done that me, Donnie?"

Donnie felt supremely awkward. He had long suspected that she wasn't completely over Casey, but they didn't really talk about it. It irritated him to think she might still have residual feelings for Casey, but he didn't blame her for that. "I don't know," he answered, once again unsure of how to handle it. "Sometimes—people just..." He was tempted to say, "are jerks like that," but he knew that wouldn't diffuse the situation, so he just trailed off into silence.

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

"April! Of course not! How could I?" Donnie hugged her tightly. "I'll do anything I can to keep you safe, no matter what. I love you, April."

"Casey said he loved me, too."

Seriously? What she seriously comparing him to Casey? Drawing a deep breath, he reminded himself that Casey's connection with the stressor made it more complicated. What April was saying wasn't personal…it just felt like it was. "April, have I ever let anything bad happen to you before, if it was something I had the power to change?"

April was silent for a moment. Then a smile came across her face. "You've never let me down."

"I'll always be here for you, April."

With that, they kissed. Even after dating for several weeks, Donnie still couldn't believe how mind-blowingly amazing and incredible it was for their lips to be touching. While he had always hoped that April would like him, he never imagined that it would seriously happen.

He could have stood there kissing her all night, but she pulled away after a few minutes. "Did you hear something?"

Donnie listened for a moment. "No."

"I don't hear it anymore either."

"Probably nothing."

"I think I'm going to go back to sleep now, Donnie. Thanks."

"Call if you need me. I'm just going to finish up these loose ends and then I'll be in my room."

They exchanged their 'I love you's—Donnie still couldn't process the explosion of sheer joy that hearing that gave him—and April walked back to her room.

* * *

"Donatello? Donatello, wake up."

As Donnie lifted his head, a string of saliva trailed from the corner of his mouth to the puddle of drool that had collected on the desk. "Huh?" Confused, he glanced at his clock, but when he turned his head an unbearable pain in his neck informed him that he had fallen asleep at his desk last night. Finally, he identified the person who was speaking to him. "Master Splinter!"

Splinter gave him a reprimanding look.

"Sensei—I'm sorry. I know you want me to be better about sleeping, and I just—I mean, I really wanted to go to be last night, and I just—"

"Come with me."

Sheepishly, Donnie followed Master Splinter into the dojo. It was late. April had already left for school, and the other guys had already finished their morning session. He wasn't sure what he was in for, but given the expression on Splinter's face, it could be nothing good. He swallowed loudly when Splinter picked up his jade staff. Donnie's toes—and most of him—had been the victim of that staff on more than one occasion.

Raising his eyebrows, Splinter gestured with a flick of his head toward the wall where Donnie's bo-staff was hanging.

_This is about to get really unpleasant,_ Donnie thought as he retrieved his bo. He knelt in front of Master Splinter and waited for his instructions.

"Tell me, Donatello," Splinter said. "Do I have any weaknesses?"

Donnie was completely nonplussed by the question. "You mean besides a good Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza?" he said, with a lame attempt at laughter.

Splinter was not mollified. "As an opponent."

Donnie sat and thought about the question for a moment. "You favor your right side. I notice you put most of your weight on your right foot, especially. If I were to take you down, it would be to my advantage to sweep out your right leg rather than your left, since if I went for your left, you could easily lift it without shifting your weight."

Splinter nodded. "You have observed well. I am also aware of this tendency in myself. Therefore, I take care to consciously, continually shift my weight based on the position of my opponent. By being aware of my vulnerabilities, I can defend myself from attack.

"What weakness do you have, my son?"

"I tend to try predicting my opponent's move so I can react appropriately. Sometimes it causes me to miss what he's actually doing, and I don't react in time."

"An apt observation. You are well aware of this. How do you counter it?"

"I constantly remind myself, 'watch, don't guess.'"

"Very good. What is another weakness you have?"

Donnie frowned as he tried to think of another one of his foibles. This was probably Splinter's way of getting him to acknowledge that not sleeping was a bad idea. As he tried to formulate his answer, however, a blur of jade swung right at him. Seconds later, he was on his back ten feet away from where he had been kneeling—and Splinter was flying through the air toward him in a strike.

He hadn't been expecting it. He couldn't dodge. Splinter's fist landed soundly on the pressure point in his neck. With a yelp, Donnie tried to roll to regain his position, but Splinter, it seemed, predicted his exact movement and headed him off immediately, chopping again at a different pressure point. Then, he was pinned, Splinter holding his staff poised for a potentially deadly strike.

"Gah! I yield, Sensei. Stop it!" he shouted.

A very satisfied grin crossed Splinter's face. He stood up and offered his hand to help Donnie up.

Donnie reached for it—but then Splinter grabbed it and flipped Donatello over, crossing Donnie's arm behind him and pulling on it until Donnie thought it was about to slip out of joint.

"Sensei! Ow! I said, I yield!"

Splinter released him again, still smiling.

"What the heck was that?"

"I took advantage of one of your weaknesses, my son."

"Which is?" snapped Donnie, as he stood up.

"You do not see me as a threat."

Donnie threw his arms up in the air. "What? Of course I see you as a threat. You're way more powerful a fighter than me. I couldn't think of a more threatening opponent."

"Not even the Shredder?"

That gave Donnie pause. "He's good, Sensei, but I doubt he could top you."

"Hmmm. Then why is it that you relax your defenses around me, when I am clearly as able to destroy you as the Shredder is—if not more so?"

"I don't relax my defenses when we're sparring, Sensei."

"I know. But you do when we are not. I knew this weakness, and I took advantage of it."

"I don't get where you're going with this," Donnie cried, rubbing the sore spot on his shoulder.

"Why do you relax your defenses when I am not sparring with you?"

"I don't expect you to hurt me then."

"Ah, so you trust me."

"Yes."

"And I just took advantage of that trust, to teach you a lesson. I took advantage of your trust for my own purposes. How does that make you feel?"

"Really mad," muttered Donnie.

"As it should," Splinter said harshly. "You see, I know you very well, Donatello. I knew that while we were speaking about your training, you would be completely relaxed. In other words, totally vulnerable. This is how it is when we are with people we love. Now, if you were already injured, and I knew that you trusted me, I could easily take advantage of you to any purpose, could I not?"

"Yes, Master Splinter, but why would you want to?"

"Obviously, I would not. But hypothetically, I might have an ulterior motive for doing so. Would it be right for me use your trust in that way?"

"No!"

"You are correct. To do so would be morally deplorable, would it not?"

"Yes, it would be."

"I am glad you understand. I would be highly disappointed to learn if you ever were to use someone's trust for your own personal gain; especially if that person was injured and vulnerable, and you knew you could take advantage of them."

Donnie blinked. "Why would I ever do that?"

Splinter frowned very deeply and raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you tell me, Donatello?"

Suddenly, Donnie realized what had caused the sound April thought she'd heard last night. "You think I'm taking advantage of April."

"The thought had crossed my mind," Splinter said, stroking his beard.

"It's not like that," said Donnie, crossing his hand back and forth. With a glance over his shoulder to make sure the other guys weren't listening, he explained everything to Splinter.

While he listened to Donnie, Splinter continued to absentmindedly tug at his beard. Once Donnie had finished explaining, he smiled almost imperceptibly. "I am glad to hear that it was she who approached you, Donatello. However—the circumstances are still delicate, so conduct yourself honorably. Because she is so vulnerable, you must be doubly certain that you behave with the utmost moral integrity. You must be the one to draw lines and uphold them."

"What do you mean, Sensei?"

"I mean," Splinter said, his tone harsh again, "that if you dishonor her by bedding her outside of wedlock, I will personally see to it that you will never be able to walk again."

Donnie blushed. "Sensei!"

Splinter frowned. "Don't try to tell me it has not crossed your mind. I too was a young man once."

All Donnie could do in response to that was chuckle nervously and pray that this ridiculously awkward conversation would end as soon as possible.

"April deserves to be treated honorably," Splinter said. "Hai?"

"Hai, Sensei," Donnie replied. "She does. I really care about her. I will conduct my behavior with honor, Master Splinter. I promise."

"Good," Splinter said. "You may go."

Donnie nearly bolted out of the dojo, but before he could reach the door, Splinter spoke again.

"Oh, and Donatello?"

Donnie cringed. "Hai, Sensei?"

Splinter smiled warmly. "Congratulations."


	6. Chapter 5

April sat outside for her lunch break. There was a stiff, chilly wind, but she needed to get outside of the school building for a while. She had found a certain solace in solitude; after she had scarfed down her peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she sat cross-legged on the bench and meditated. The cold air numbed the tip of her nose and her ears, but it felt good—as though it were numbing her to the distracting temporal happenings around her.

Suddenly, however, she had the feeling that she was being watched. She opened her eyes and looked around—there, across the campus, a woman she had never seen stood looking at her. Immediately, April became cautious. She felt for her tessen—which Mei had miraculously been able to retrieve for her—and watched carefully.

After a moment, the woman approached her. "It's kind of cold out here. Why don't you go inside?"

"I needed some air," April replied.

"Are you April O'Neil, by any chance?"

April's insides suddenly felt as cold as the ambient temperature. "Why do you ask?" She immediately remembered Ms. Campbell—who turned out to be a Kraang robot.

"I'm Jen Remington, Casey Jones' foster parent. I thought you might be the girl who was tutoring him in trigonometry."

April relaxed, but only slightly. What if Karai had somehow managed to manipulate Jen as well? "That's me. But we had a falling out, so I stopped."

Jen nodded solemnly. "He's had a rough life. He has a hard time keeping friends. I'm sorry to hear he pushed you away."

_You don't know the half of it, lady, _April thought. "Why are you here at lunch hour?"

"Casey's in trouble. Again." Jen sighed. "I haven't ever seen him as happy as he was when he was hanging out with you and your friends, April. I understand if you don't—but if you would think about giving him a second chance, he really is trying."

"I will think about it," April replied, her tone indicating that she was only saying this to be polite.

Jen pressed her lips together and nodded again. "Thanks," she said. "Well, see you." With that, she turned and left.

* * *

Yet again, another week went by for April. Everything seemed like a blurred painting; one day bled into the next like watercolor. Every morning, she woke because Donnie pulled her out of bed. She ate because it was necessary. She went to school because she was sure her father would want her to. She trained because it distracted her. She practiced meditation because it soothed her.

All in all, she felt numb. However, there were those moments she felt like herself again—during a covert kiss with Donnie, after mastering a particularly hard kata, listening to Master Splinter and Tang Mei tell stories about their childhood in Japan. But as soon as the moments passed, the numbness swallowed her up again.

Her heart ached for her father. Even though she knew that he would have no miraculous cure for her, she also knew that he might be able to help her more than anyone else could. Every day after training, she went to visit him.

This particular day, Donnie accompanied her.

"Hi, Daddy," April said as they walked into the cave. Her father's distorted face smiled broadly; his smiles gave her hope that perhaps her father was still in there. She ran to him and hugged him, which he returned in his own awkward way.

"Hey, Mr. O'Neil," Donnie said with a wave. He opened up a shoebox full of her dad's favorite snacks and set them loose in the cave. Happily, her dad bounded after the small creatures.

April and Donnie sat down next to each other on a rock and watched as her dad ran about pouncing on his prey. "Thanks for everything you do, Donnie," April said.

Donnie put his arm around April. "Of course." He sighed. "Hey, I've got some bad news."

"What's that?" April asked, her stomach flipping.

"Well, we've got to pull some tissue samples from your dad for my research. It might hurt him a little, but not too much. We're going to have to restrain him."

"Oh. You had me scared for a minute, Donnie."

"Well, just wait until you hear the good news," Donnie said with a grin.

"What is it?"

"It's a surprise."

* * *

That evening, after eating an excellent supper prepared by Mikey and Mei, Donnie stood up from the table. "Everyone, I have an announcement to make," he said, a huge grin adorning his face. "Please follow me into my lab." Once everyone had moved to the lab, Donnie stood up straight with a pleased expression on his face.

"Well, don't keep us waiting, dude!" Mikey said.

"Yeah! What's this about?" snapped Raph.

"Aunt Mei, would you like to do the honors?" Donnie asked.

Smiling, Mei walked over to Donnie's desk, which was covered with a tarp. "Donatello and I are proud to unveil our latest collaboration," she said. "The only supercomputer in the world capable of the advanced molecular analysis of extra-dimensional elements!" She whipped the tarp away, revealing underneath a massive computer.

April stared at the computer and burst into applause with everyone else. To the eye, it was little more than a jumble of electronics—but to her heart, it was a beacon of hope and promise. If Donnie had made it this far, maybe there was a chance that he would really succeed.

"What do you call it?" Leonardo asked.

Donnie put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Well…"

"_Unmutatron 3000_!" shouted Mikey, bobbing up and down. "Why? Cause you're gonna un-mutate stuff with it, and 3000 is an awesome number!"

"It already has a name, shellbrain! We're not calling it the '_Unmutatron 3000_.'"

"I kinda like '_Unmutatron_,'" Raph said.

"No! That's a stupid name."

"So what brilliant name did you come up with, Professor Brainioff?" Raph countered, folding his arms.

Donnie turned red. "That doesn't matter. It's just a computer."

"_'April's Hope_,'" said Mei abruptly.

"What?" said Leonardo, confused.

"Obasan!" Donnie cried, in scandalized tones.

"It's called _'April's Hope,'_" Mei continued, ignoring Donnie's protests. "It's the name he put on the first blueprints for it, about four months ago."

April looked into Donnie's eyes. She wanted to ask, "_This whole time? Even before we…?_" but she could not find her voice. Still blushing brilliantly, he gave her a tiny embarrassed smile.

"Awwww…" said Michelangelo, snickering. "That's so cute, Donnie!"

Raphael was shaking with repressed laughter. Leonardo, trying to be above his other brothers, covered his smile with his hand. Meanwhile, Splinter was shooting darts out of his eyes at the three turtles.

However, April had ceased to notice Donnie's brothers. All she saw were Donnie's brown eyes, filled with questions: _Do you like it? Are you happy? Am I trying hard enough? _

At that moment, she and Donnie were the only ones in the room. Donnie had burst in to rescue her yet again—to rescue her from despair, to give her hope. Hardly aware of what she was doing, she broke into a run, leapt into Donnie's arms, grabbed both sides of his face, and kissed him more passionately than she ever had before.

At first, Donnie's eyes opened wide in surprise, but then he shut them and got lost in their kiss, locking his arms tightly around her. When April finally pulled away, she whispered, "I love you, Donnie."

Her soft whisper was the loudest thing in the lab. Suddenly, she became aware of the silence around her. Whirling around, she saw just about the funniest thing she had ever seen.

Raphael had gone totally slack-jawed; Leonardo's eyes were so big that they looked ready to fall out; Michelangelo held a hand over his mouth in pure shock. Even though she hadn't really wanted them to find out yet, their expressions were so comical that April burst out laughing.

Donnie, though smiling, was not laughing. He stood tall, giving his brothers a smug, superior look. "Come on, April," he said. "Let me show you how it works."

While the three brothers stood in stunned silence, Splinter and Mei, who had shown no indication of surprise whatsoever, walked over to the computer to watch the demonstration.

"You remember those tissue samples we took?" Donnie said. "I dissolved them into this solution. Now, I put the specimens into the molecular centrifuge…" He inserted several test tubes into the equipment. "…which will feed information that the computer then interprets."

April had no clue as to what was really happening, but when data started popping up on the screen, she cheered. "Donnie, you are amazing!" she shouted, kissing him on the cheek.

Raph finally found his voice. "Okay, what is going on here? Donnie, April just…and why aren't you freaking out?"

Donnie grinned smugly. "Recover from your shell shock there, did you?"

"You've been hiding it from us, haven't you?" Leonardo said, shaking his head in disbelief. "How long have you guys been together?"

"A few weeks now," Donnie replied, his tone filled with vindication

When Mikey finally spoke, his face was filled with genuine hurt. "Why didn't you tell us? Did you think we wouldn't be happy for you?"

April suddenly felt as though she had been punched in the gut. She had been the only reason Donnie hadn't told his brothers; he had asked her over and over again if he could. Now that the truth was out, she would have to try to explain to all of them what she couldn't even explain to Donnie.

As she fumbled for something to say, Donnie spoke up. "That wasn't it at all, Mikey."

April cringed, bracing herself for Donnie to blame her.

"You see—I was afraid that you'd think I was being a jerk for dating her so soon after she broke up. I thought you'd be mad."

Once again, Donnie had saved April—this time, from embarrassment.

"Mad?" Leo shouted. "Donnie—how could we be mad?"

"Well, we're mad at you now," Raph said.

"Sorry, guys," Donnie said.

"C'mere, dude," said Mikey. "High three!"

As April watched the three congratulate Donnie, all she could think about how much she didn't deserve him. But when they swarmed in and scooped her up in a group hug, she found herself remembering something that Mei had said to her once:

_"Nobody_ earns _or _deserves _love."_

As April looked around her, she saw lots of things she didn't deserve. Her caring, mother-like friend; her wise, loving sensei; her sweet, brilliant boyfriend; her three dedicated, awesome brothers; a safe place to live, and so much more.

_Nobody deserves gifts,_ she thought. _Nobody deserves anything. All we can do is accept what is given to us and be glad._

With that thought, April lost herself in the celebration of the moment: a bright, colorful moment that stood out brilliantly in the dark, blurred watercolor of her emotional distress.


	7. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted in a while. Thanks for all your follows and favorites. I'm sorry that this chapter is so terribad. Also, I don't own TMNT. But it would be totally sweet if I did.

* * *

As Mei shut April's door behind her, she smiled to herself. April seemed to be herself again, at least for this evening. Their meditation had gone well, and April was almost bubbly. As she walked down the hallway, Mei looked around at the multiple doors leading to vacant rooms. It had been more than a week now since Splinter had invited her to come live with them. The thought still made her feel slightly uncomfortable, even though she had embraced them thoroughly as her family. Her solitude was still important to her—and somewhere inside of her, her desire to avoid close relationships still murmured in her subconscious. As long as she was living away from them, she could still feel separated enough.

She was surprised to see the television off and no turtles to be seen. Perhaps they had already gone to bed. She was just about to go into the lab to see if Donnie was in there when she heard voices coming from inside.

"So…you guys kiss and hug and stuff?" Michelangelo was asking.

"Yeah. All the time," replied a smug Donatello.

"Whoa. What's it like?" Michelangelo said.

"Like nothing you'll ever get to experience, shell brain," Raphael said.

"Hey!" Michelangelo protested.

There was a pause. "Seriously, what's it like?" Raphael asked.

"It's hard to describe," Donnie said. "But it's pretty awesome. It's like…well…it makes you feel tingly all over, kind of."

Mei peeked around the corner. Michelango, Leonardo, and Raphael sat in a semi-circle around Donatello as though he had somehow achieved a strange majestic status. It was all she could do not to laugh aloud.

"Wow," Michelangelo said, his eyes wide like saucers.

"So, do you guys kiss with tongue?" Raphael asked.

Donatello blushed slightly in response.

"Raph!" protested Leonardo. "That's an extremely personal question." There was a pause. "Do you?"

"Ha! Look at his face," Michelangelo exclaimed. "They so totally do."

"O-only a couple of times," Donatello replied.

"What's it like?" Leonardo asked eagerly. Mei found it extremely amusing that Leonardo's attempt at being mature had completely disintegrated. "I mean, compared to regular kissing?"

Donatello's blush deepened. "It's really hot."

"Have you guys—done anything else?" Raphael asked, as though he was unsure whether he really wanted the answer.

"Raph!" Leo said again. He bit his lip for a moment. "Have you?"

"No," Donnie said, his voice leaping up in pitch. "Nothing like that at all."

"Are you guys gonna?" Michelangelo asked.

"No, Mikey," Donnie said firmly. "No way. That wouldn't be the honorable thing to do. Not unless…well, I mean…if we get married…if it ever goes that far…"

"Good for you, Donnie," Leonardo said. "Master Splinter would be proud."

"Well, he caught us kissing the other day, and he basically said he'd kill me if I…well, you know."

"Wow," Raph said, he voice strangely dreamy. Mei had never heard him talk like that before. "I can't even imagine what that would be like."

"What, being killed by Splinter?" snorted Michelangelo.

"No—the other thing," Raphael snapped. He sighed. "Of course, there's like an absolute zero chance of that ever happening for the rest of us."

The room was filled with a somber silence. Donatello's face was extremely guilty-looking. After a moment, he stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, guys."

Leonardo smiled. "Are you kidding, Donnie? This is awesome for you. I know we give you a ton of crap, but I'm really happy for you."

"Me too," Michelangelo said.

"Yeah, and maybe if there's a girl with bad enough taste to fall for Donnie, we might have a chance too," Raphael added.

Donatello glared for a moment, and then he laughed. "Okay, I suppose you have a point. I mean, I always hoped, but I never thought…you know, it would actually happen."

"So what would you want your girlfriend to look like, Raph?" Michelangelo asked.

Grinning, Mei walked away from the lab, deciding not to interrupt their conversation. After bidding Splinter farewell, she began the journey home to her apartment. Memories from the past returned to her as she went. She and her sister frequently talked about boys after school; she could hardly count the number of times that Shen had asked her about what dating was like. The first time they had really talked about boys was after Kenshin had asked her out.

"I can't believe he rushed in and defended your honor like that!" Shen had squealed delightedly, as they walked home from school. "Wow. And against one of the best bushis that goes to our school! And then he asked you out?"

Mei had giggled loudly in response. "I know. I never thought that Kenshin, of all people, would be the one to do that. I always thought he was…well, a little weird. I don't think I've ever even heard him talk except to answer a question during class."

Shen sighed. "It must be nice to have all the boys head over heels for you," she said. "Nobody notices me."

"There's that Oroku kid who is in your year," Mei said, trying to make Shen feel better. "What's his name?"

"Saki. But I don't like him at all. He is just…I get a bad feeling from him."

"What about the one that's always running around with him? Hamato?"

"Hamato Yoshi," Shen sighed dreamily. Then she scowled. "But he likes you, Mei."

Mei laughed. "He's two years younger than me. Why on earth would I be with him?"

"That's the point, Mei. Everyone likes you. Boys stare at you. Nobody stares at me, except Oroku Saki."

Mei hadn't known what to say in response to that, so she had attempted to redirect the conversation. "You like Yoshi, don't you?"

Hamato Yoshi. Mei remembered all of his clumsy, stupid attempts to get her attention, particularly after she and Kenshin had begun dating each other. She had been relieved when he finally gave up. Years after they had all finished school, she remembered how ecstatic Shen was when Yoshi finally gave her the attention she had longed for all those years. And Mei had been happy too, not once grudging her brother-in-law his silly childhood infatuation.

She remembered how happy that Shen and Yoshi had been when Miwa was born. Several times, she and her sister would take turns watching their children. Mei smiled fondly when she thought of her two boys running around wildly while she babysat Miwa. It was almost as though they had been one family instead of two.

Family. Their family had been so close. When Oroku Saki destroyed that, she had vowed never to be close to anyone again. But now she had a chance at being part of a family again.

She knew that she belonged with her family. Why should she let the fears of the past hold her back?

She had made her decision.

* * *

Karai stood in the doorway to Bradford's dojo, watching her father practice various katas. It made her glad to see him up and about again. After the turtles had caught him off guard and injured him quite severely, he had been spending more time in physical therapy than in the dojo.

Now that he was recovered, however, she felt that the time was right. Something had been troubling her for several weeks, and she had finally worked up the nerve to ask him about it.

Memories of the night that she had captured April had not stopped buzzing around in her mind. That Satou woman—April's friend who panicked when they attacked—seemed eerily familiar to Karai. Even though she had only caught a glimpse of Satou's face, Karai couldn't help but think she had seen that face somewhere before—either a long, long time ago, or perhaps she had simply met someone with a similar countenance.

Karai had been having dreams about that woman ever since, though none of them made sense. It was a strange jumble of faces and sounds strung together. Sometimes, the strange woman sang songs that, though Karai never remembered hearing, were hauntingly familiar. Rarely, the dreams were filled with the sound of little boys giggling.

She had tried forming various theories about the dreams; perhaps Satou reminded her of somebody who had nannied for her once. It would make sense, since Karai could not remember a time that she was not watched by hired help. Perhaps Satou even had been a nanny for her; Satou seemed to recognize them as the Foot. Satou might have had a falling out with Shredder—it certainly wouldn't be the first time such a thing would happen.

Perhaps all of it was just in her imagination. But she was bound and determined to ask.

Shredder had just completed a very complex form when he stopped and looked over at the doorway. Though she had been stealthy and silent, he had sensed that she was there. He was simply silent for a moment, then he gestured for her to come inside the dojo.

He walked over to the small table, removed his helmet, and set it down. Then, he picked up the water bottle that he had set there and took a long drink of it.

Karai simply waited quietly while he did this. It was rare that her father removed his helmet, especially in front of her. The burn scars that marred his face only made her angrier at the man who had inflicted them, the man that was the reason that she had always had nannies instead of a mother.

Her father sighed contentedly after he had finished his drink. "What can I do for you, Karai?"

"I wanted to ask you a question, Father."

"Then ask."

"Did you ever know or work with a woman named Satou?"

Shredder paused, looking up as he thought about the question. "I have met several Satous, but none of them stand out in my memory. Why do you ask?"

"That woman—the one that Jones said was friends with April O'Neil—her name was Satou. I saw her for a briefly when we attacked to capture O'Neil. Something about her seemed very familiar."

After taking another sip of water, Shredder refitted his helmet. "I cannot think of anyone in particular. What did this Satou look like?"

"Not much taller than me," Karai replied. "Freckled, long hair, probably about your age."

Shredder shook his head. "I do not remember," he said.

"She seemed to recognize us as the Foot. It was very strange, the way she suddenly turned on O'Neil like that. She kept saying things like, 'I trusted you.'"

"It does not matter. Any enemy of April O'Neil is not a threat to us."

"I just know that I've seen her somewhere before, Father."

"Save your focus for Hamato Yoshi, Karai. Nothing else matters."

"But Father, she fought with sai. Isn't the clan where you and Splinter trained one of the few that accepts the sai as a ninja's weapon?"

"There are other martial arts that employ the sai. You are looking for concerns where there are none. Stay focused, understand me?"

"Yes, Father."

As her father left the room, Karai tried to bite back the surge of anger that pulsed through her. He never seemed to care when things upset her. Anytime there was a concern, he dismissed it by redirecting her to Hamato Yoshi.

She hated Hamato Yoshi. There was no question of that.

She hated him because when he had killed Tang Shen, he had also stolen her father.


End file.
